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Hi : Protecting worker health includes mental health
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Reduced mental health is now the primary cause of lost working days in most Westernised countries and the related at-work productivity loss (presenteeism) can be 1.5 times greater than the cost of absenteeism.
Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, businesses must provide a work environment that is without risk to health and safety, so far as is reasonably practicable. Whilst focus is typically given to reducing the risk of physical harm, the Act defines health as being both physical and mental.
It’s clear supporting good mental health has significant benefits to businesses and workers alike. WorkSafe’s approach is that psychosocial risks are a work risk just like biological, chemical or physical risks, and there should be just as much focus on eliminating or minimising them.
In this issue, we highlight our recently-updated resources to prevent and respond to workplace bullying which is one type of psychosocial risk. WorkSafe takes an educative approach to dealing with workplace bullying through our guidance and tools. See the stories below for more detail.
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More anti-bullying resources
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While our approach to dealing with bullying at work hasn’t changed, we have made our guidance more user-friendly and now have stand-alone publications specifically for:
We also have developed templates for an anti-bullying policy and forms to make reports or formal complaints of unreasonable behaviour. These, and a new web-based tool using fictitious examples to explain how to deal with specific workplace bullying situations, can be found in our Bullying prevention toolbox.
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Mobile health advice for 500 Canterbury construction workers
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Last month 500 Canterbury construction workers across 25 rebuild construction sites received free health advice via an occupational health van, organised by WorkSafe to raise awareness about the work-related health risks they face at work. We had expected up to 400 workers would access the advice on offer.
As well as providing information on construction sector health risks, occupational health nurses provided information on how to make sure personal protective equipment, such as face masks and ear plugs, are fitted correctly. Read more about this initiative.
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Informed conversations on work-related health: ‘how do you know?’
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Recent reporting shows many senior leaders may be overly confident about the way work-related health risks are being managed in their businesses.
The Taskforce Review into Health and Safety said that we needed to generate a sense of ‘chronic unease’ in New Zealand, which has previously been described as a healthy scepticism about what we are told. We’re getting better at applying this scepticism for safety-related matters, but evidence suggests that business leaders may have too much confidence in the way health risks are being managed. This suggests there could be a difference between perception and reality.
WorkSafe will cover what can contribute to the disconnect and the benefits of having a systematic approach to health risk management at next month’s Safeguard National Health and Safety Conference. This year’s conference theme is 'better conversations'.
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